Things to do in London this weekend (July 25-26)

The world’s oldest psychiatric hospital, Bethlem Royal Hospital, often referred to as Bedlam, looked after several famous patients, including Victorian painter Richard Dadd. Dadd, a former Royal Academy of Schools student and established painter, suffered from delusions whilst on a Middle Eastern tour in 1843, believing the Egyptian god Osiris was influencing him. On his return home, Dadd, convinced his father was the devil, ended up killing him with a knife before fleeing to France. First detained at Bethlem and later moved to Broadmoor Hospital, where he died, he produced some of his most celebrated works, like ‘The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke' whilst incarcerated. This survey exhibition includes more than 100 works, including rarely seen sketches and paintings and a series of watercolours made on his eastern travels. 

Once again, London’s most ravey festival will take over Boston Manor Park with some of the biggest names in techno and house. Celebrating it’s 10th birthday this year, Junction 2 will span a mega two weekends with an absolutley stacked line-up featuring the godmothers and godfathers of electronic music alongside exciting contemporary talent. DJs announced for 2026 include Nina Kraviz, Adam Beyer, Franky Wah, Jeff Mills, Francesco del Garda, Gabrielle Kwarteng b2b Peach, I Hate Models, Miss Monique, Nicolas Lutz.  

On Saturday, central London will turn pink and blue as London Trans+ Pride celebrates its eighth year. Each year, it’s been getting bigger and more central to the city's Pride celebrations, offering a heartening display of queer solidarity at a time when trans rights are continually under threat. In previous years, a parade has marched through central London, from Trafalgar Square to Hyde Park Corner’s Wellington Arch. Since 2019, the event has sought to honour the memory of trans lives taken, uphold the next generation of trans revolutionaries and support crucial trans rights.  

Homer’s The Odyssey first engaged Christopher Nolan when he was attached to direct Troy, 20-odd years ago, and he’s been stealth-adapting Western literature’s foundational text ever since. Interstellar puts a time-bending spin on the story of a man trying to make it home; Inception is about trauma and homecoming; and The Dark Knight Rises sends Batman into the underworld to find his way home. So maybe The Odyssey has been the British filmmaker’s real odyssey all along. It’s a movie he could only make at this point in his career, with the full array of tools and treasure at his disposal. It’s definitely Nolan at his most formidable. The ending, one of his very best. The thunderous near-three-hours of storm-tossed seas, clashing steel, vengeful dei ex machina, awe-inspiring monsters, and Oscar-bound A-listers takes unpacking and a second viewing will bring some of the themes and textures into sharper relief. Appreciation will only grow for Ludwig Göransson’s extraordinary expressionist score, the apocalyptic glow of van Hoytema’s nocturnal lighting, and Ellen Mirojnick’s opulent costumes. The results are mythical. 

At Impala, exec chef Meedu Saad (who has Egyptian heritage) reads north African cuisines through the adopted grammar of French and Thai kitchens. He wouldn’t be the first to filter a cuisine through Gallic techniques, but the latter, after seven years spent running nearby Kiln’s kitchen, is where it gets interesting. It’s Saad’s judicious control of heat and bitterness, and his willingness to push balance to its limits, that gives Impala’s fare its distinctive flavour profile. Fresh, verdant peas snap brightly amongst dry-aged raw sea bass, and surprisingly Frube-esque blasts of pink peppercorn and mashua root, as garum whips you back into adulthood. The harissa in a sublime squid salad is so vivid you can feel the sun drying the pepper on a Djerban rooftop, but it’s never too much. It’s a colossal, ambitious menu best tackled with a group of greedy pals. Originality is a genuinely rare thing to encounter in today’s TikTok-driven restaurant world, but this is one of the boldest restaurants in London. 

Somerset House Summer Series is back for another year. Held in the Edmond J. Safra Fountain court, in the enclave of the iconic Neoclassical building, this open-air series of gigs has long held space for both exciting up-and-comers and well-known trailblazers from the UK and beyond. Spread out over 11 nights,

Somerset House Summer Series is back for another year. Held in the Edmond J. Safra Fountain courtyard, in the enclave of the iconic Neoclassical building, this open-air series of gigs has long held space for both exciting up-and-comers and well-known trailblazers from the UK and beyond. Spread out over 11 nights, this weekend catch Raf-Saperra (Friday 24 July), psychedelic rockers The Flaming Lips (Saturday 25 July), and Benjamin Clementine (Sunday 26 July).   

Alfresco swimming season has officially arrived. To celebrate, Royal Victoria Docks is opening its open-water lido daily over three weeks for Summer Splash. And while other open water swimming can often come with a price tag, this watery oasis is free to use throughout the event. The lifeguard-supervised swimming spot also features sandpits, deckchairs and sunsafe areas to relax in. Head along to lane swim with a backdrop of stunning city views or look out for a programme of family-friendly activities. 

Director Simon Stone’s expansive adaptation of the Greek legend The Oresteia is trashy as hell and yet relentlessly gripping, its three-and-a-half hours whizzing by. The original story starts with one of the most infamous murders in myth, as Agamemnon sacrifices his own daughter Iphigenia to the gods in order to allow the vengeful Greeks to sail to Troy. Here, a non-linear structure maximises shock value in a way that clearly takes a leaf or two from the world of true crime podcasts. It’s Greek myth gone Saltburn, and incredibly fun. 

Another year, another spectacular line-up of classical music. This year, the orchestral extravaganza will feature 86 concerts across eight weeks, with over 3,000 artists taking to the stage, with the majority of the action taking place inside the grand surroundings of London’s Royal Albert Hall. There'll be the chance to hear visiting ensembles from all over the world, including The Met Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Mahler Academy Orchestra and the Spanish National Orchestra, as well as innumerable concerts and recitals from the classic music world's biggest stars. This weekend, look out for a Horrible Science Big Bang Prom. 

Watch people twist into gravity-defying shapes and perform experimental theatre at Ensemble Festival, a free two-day performance festival where some of the country’s most exciting artists will be performing circus, dance, and theatre. This year’s programme has been curated by Certain Blacks and will put a special emphasis on exploring identity and ecology through physical storytelling. 

Dig out your best cosplay for this annual festival, which brings a touch of Tokyo to west London. Hyper Japan is the UK’s largest celebration of Japanese culture, taking place at Hammersmith's Olympia Events space each summer. This year’s headline draws are performances from anime soundtrack regulars Queen Bee and TikTok dance stars avantgardey. Across three days, there’ll also be Japanese arts and crafts workshops, martial arts classes, performances from acclaimed Japanese musicians, a market with artworks and heritage crafts, lots of Japanese garb for sale and, of course, an irresistible array of Japanese food to sink your teeth into. 

With admirable chutzpah, London’s latest immersive exhibition offers not just a focus on a single event, but a journey through the entire history of human civilisation. Well, ‘entire’ is a bit much: rather than focus on heavily documented eras of humanity, Timewalk – a creation of the DEM Museums in Türkiye – is dedicated to using immersive tech to plunge you into a succession of semi-mythical ancient civilisations. Starting at Göbeklitepe in Türkiye – widely recognised as the world’s earliest communal gathering site – its various rooms will take you onward to Babylon, Ancient Egypt, the Maya, and Rapa Nui and more, with the idea being to present these vanished societies not as dusty relics but as living, breathing recreations of how they might have been.

Detour Discotheque is the travelling nightclub, which has made a name for itself by putting on club nights in highly remote locations such as the Swiss mountaintops, remote Scottish islands and Iceland’s Westfjords; its next party will be in the Italian town of Matera. Can’t make it that far? It’s hosting a party right here in London this summer. Yep, Detour Discotheque is taking over Somerset House, transforming the venue’s Setlist bar and restaurant and Thames-side terraces into a ‘disco time warp’. The venue will be packed with mirror balls and styled like the iconic nightclubs of ‘70s New York. Think The Loft meets Paradise Garage meets Studio 54, with the disco tunes to match. Expect spritzes and imported US beers on pour. And if all that dancing gets your stomach rumbling, the kitchen will be open until late serving tacos, pizza and salads. 

It feels like every choreographer is creating works inspired by raving these days, and acclaimed British choreographer – known for his tribal and high-octane style – Hofesh Shechter is one of them. Inspired by Berlin nightlife and rituals, Shechter’s new full-length work is a visceral exploration of rhythm and raw movement. We expect that his signature movement will lend itself perfectly to this piece that captures the energy of the dance floor. 

After pulling in millions of visitors in Amsterdam and Barcelona, Moco Museum London has landed beside Marble Arch with a three-floor showcase of modern, contemporary and immersive art. Inside, you’ll find more than 100 works from names including Banksy, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Yayoi Kusama, alongside immersive digital rooms and sensory installations designed to pull you into the artwork. There’s also the limited-run exhibition ‘Voice of the Street’, dedicated to Haring’s legendary New York subway drawings from the early 1980s. Flex-entry tickets start from £15, so you can drop in whenever suits during opening hours.

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If you’re in the market for a meticulously accurate, 100 percent culturally sensitive drama about the events that led to the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand… then approach US playwright Rajiv Joseph’s play with caution. That’s not to say Joseph hasn’t done his research. His absurdist account of the recruitment and radicalisation of Ferdinand’s would-be assassins in the name of Yugoslav nationalism is very, very obviously not how it went down exactly. But this pointedly surreal play never pretends otherwise. This production – enhanced by a wonderful Es Devlin set that starts in the sewers and ends in a gilded train carriage – is simply so enjoyable. It’s a delicious cackle in the dark, at a subject that’s not becoming irrelevant anytime soon.

It’s difficult to talk about Ana Mendieta’s work without first mentioning her death. The Cuban-American artist was just 36 years old when she died in suspicious circumstances in 1985, after allegedly falling from the 34th-floor Manhattan apartment she shared with her husband, the revered modernist sculptor Carl Andre. As a rising star of the avant-garde art scene in 1980s New York, there’s no knowing what brilliant work Ana Mendieta might still be producing if her career hadn’t been cut tragically short. Great news, then, that the Tate Modern is putting the art front and centre this summer, in the largest UK exhibition of Ana Mendieta’s work to date, featuring many pieces never exhibited in this country before. 

Three legendary south London nightclubs are coming together this summer to create a mega series of shindigs, proving that south London really is the capital’s clubbing epicentre right now. Phonox, MOT and Jumbi will join forces for 13 events taking place throughout the summer; audiences will be moved between venues, going from outside to inside and day to night. Circulate has curated a stellar line-up featuring a who’s who of world-class DJs. This Saturday, there’s a day party at MOT on the cards featuring Angel D'lite and Josh Caffé. Stay out late for the Phonox afterparty. 

Edmond Rostan’s French classic is anything but stuffy in this RSC transfer. Co-adaptors Simon Evans (who also directs) and Debris Stevenson restore the work to 1640 France – a time when the country was stuck in the Thirty Years’ War – and yes, it comes with all the trimmings of that era (pocket swords! Mournful violin players!). It’s very much the romantic tragicomedy Rostand wrote, but despite its period setting, it feels wholly current. Adrien Lester’s Cyrano appears as a man of swaggering confidence and Susannah Fielding’s Roxane is sardonically chipper, with girl-next-door energy. It all makes for a five-star play, oozing with bittersweet longing and stirring down to its last jot. 

Visit the first museum exhibition dedicated to artist Audrey Amiss, which brings together drawings, paintings and other exhibition materials to explore the life and work of Amiss who died in 2013. Committed to psychiatric hospitals several times throughout her life, Amiss used her art to advocate for people who were mistreated by the mental health system. The Surviving Exhibitions focuses on works that records suggest Amiss exhibited or intended to make public. 

Journalists have been banned from entering Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023. In Daniel Rugo’s new documentary, a group of international medics act as first-hand witnesses to the conflict. ‘You’re not seeing what I’m seeing,’ is the documentary’s opening gambit, delivered by the straight-talking Dr Victoria Rose, a British plastic and reconstructive surgeon. With the absence of international media on the ground in Gaza, Rugo claims that what most people are learning about Israel’s action in Gaza are ‘lies’. Filmed from October 2023 to 2025, the 10 physicians featured, which includes surgeons, paediatricians and obstetricians, are here to set their record straight. It’s not a happy watch, but Life Support is an urgent and essential piece of reportage. 

Tate Modern has sold more advance tickets for Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon than for any exhibition in the Tate gallery’s 128-year history. It’s not surprising. More than seventy years after her death at the age of 47, the Mexican artist remains a cultural phenomenon: a painter, fashion muse, feminist icon and, as the gift shop attests, a patron saint of tote bags and tea towels.This exhibition explores how Kahlo became one of the most recognisable artists of the 20th century and a source of inspiration for generations of artists who followed. The highlight is by far the first rooms, which feature 23 exquisite paintings and 11 works on paper by Kahlo. They are accompanied by photographs she sat for, her jewellery, and a selection of Indigenous Mexican clothing from Kahlo’s wardrobe. 

This nail-bitingly tense thriller is director Felix Barrett’s second ‘normal’ piece of theatre to open in London in the last year. Barrett is the founder and driving force behind immersive theatre legends Punchdrunk. The Guilty concerns a troubled police call centre operator; it’s writer Chloe Moss’s adaptation of the Danish film Den Skyldige and its Jake Gyllenhaal-starring Hollywood remake. This production is about as immersive as sitting in a seat watching a single guy onstage gets. The action is enhanced by an arsenal of disorienting light and sound tricks. Russell Tovey wears his heart on his sleeve tremendously well as Joe, a jaded police call centre operator going about his job with surly efficiency. There are hints from the beginning that something bad has happened to Tovey’s operator. Barrett’s direction provides an alluring air of ambiguity, but at the same time it’s mostly a bloody good real-time thriller. 

Watch people twist into gravity-defying shapes and perform experimental theatre at Ensemble Festival, a free two-day performance festival where some of the country’s most exciting artists will be performing circus, dance, and theatre. This year’s programme has been curated by Certain Blacks and will put a special emphasis on exploring identity and ecology through physical storytelling. Highlights include Fragments of Us by the renowned Talawa Theatre in collaboration with contemporary dance company FUBUNATION and award-winning artist Sonia Hughes, a dance and spoken word performance exploring ancestry, belonging, and shared experiences. Garbh by Shyam Dattani and Mira Salat reimagines the Gujarati folk dance Garba through contemporary choreography and a visually rich design, while ElevateHer by Daughters of the Wire celebrates female camaraderie and empowerment through an all-female wire walking performance.

Popping up each summer on the steps where the Regent’s Canal passes Granary Square, Everyman’s Screen on the Canal is one of the city’s best loved outdoor cinemas, thanks to its atmospheric setting, eclectic programming and the fact that it doesn’t cost viewers a penny. Pop down on a sunny afternoon to catch live coverage from Wimbledon every day of the tournament, plus the usual mix of live sports, classic movies, family-friendly flicks and recent hits.

If you thought walking up to your favourite painting in the National Gallery was as close as you could get to a masterpiece, think again. At Frameless, 42 masterpieces from 29 of the world’s most iconic artists are presented in ways never seen before, reimagined through cutting-edge technology, animation and soundscapes. Situated in Marble Arch, Frameless plays host to four unique galleries with hypnotic visuals and a dazzling score, where visitiors can enjoy 90 minutes of surreal artwork from Bosch, Dalí and more, for just £23.60.

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‘What you are about to see is something you’ve never seen before,’ we're promised at the start of Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. That may be true for some of us, but not for all: Nirvanna the Band the Show was actually a culty and beloved Canadian sitcom based on an early aughts web series – which has now, as advertised, been turned into a full-length movie. Like the series and sitcom, the movie follows two clueless friends determined to book a gig at Toronto’s famed Rivoli music club. Unfortunately, they don’t have a manager, an agent or much of a setlist. Because the movie’s on-the-fly style is as scruffy as its protagonists, it’s easy to underestimate the intelligence and artistry it takes to make something so silly. But they dumb themselves down brilliantly. And right about now, a brilliantly big-hearted, feel-good comedy may be even more valuable than a Saturday night spot at the Rivoli.

Is it art, or is it maths? It’s a question even MC Escher himself couldn’t answer about his own work. While the Dutch printmaker known for his infinite staircases, metamorphosing tessellations and paradoxical buildings was rejected by the art world, he was revered by mathematicians and is now one of the most famous optical illusionists of all time. The OG creator of images that make you go ‘Huh?’ is going under the microscope in London with a blockbuster exhibition celebrating his life and work this summer. Created by Italian company Arthemisia and the immersive peeps at Fever, MC Escher: The Exhibition has arrived at Somerset House as part of its world tour. If you are a gaga for geometry, are fascinated by fractals, or just have a penchant for the psychedelic, you will find plenty to be engrossed by here. 

Classical music isn't just for the rarified silence of concert halls. Brixton Chamber Orchestra is determined to bring free music to local people, with a summer tour that'll take them right to the estates where they live. Forthcoming dates including Wyvil/Mawbey Estates (Fri Jul 24, 3pm), Clapham Park Estate (Fri Jul 24, 7pm), Moorlands Estate (Sat Jul 25, 3pm), Fairfax Park (Sat Jul 25, 7pm), Palace Road Estate (Sun Jul 26, 3pm) and St Matthew's Estate (Sun Jul 26, 6.30pm). Turn up and listen to a set performed by a 30-piece orchestra, spanning classical, grime, gospel, jazz and more. 

In our age of mind-boggling CGI and AI-optimised everything, it’s easy to forget how much pleasure can be had from the simple optical tricks of mirrors and lights. But not for Julio Le Parc. A key figure of the Kinetic and Op Art movements of the 1960s, the pioneering Argentinian artist has been making illuminated, kinetic and participatory works for seven decades, and is still making art at the ripe old age of 97. This major retrospective celebrates his visionary seven-decade career, spanning from from his arrival in Paris in the late 1950s to his resurgence in the 2010s, with over 60 colourful, immersive (and extremely Instagrammable) works.